Malta, MT

4 miles out of Glasgow we passed by numerous dinosaur sculptures scattered all over the hills on the right. Taken by the sight, I knew I needed a picture. I left early and was near the front, but pulled over and went to knock on the home's door to ask to go on his land. No one answered and when I turned around, only Quang was there. Supposedly lots of people had passed by in the process (I had to walk my bike down a gravel path and deal with a wolf-dog outside the front door) and so began the confusion.

I don't know why, but I like to know where everybody is on the road. I like to know what order people are in. I like to know who's in front of me and who's behind me. I don't want to be surprised if someone passes me; I want to be prepared. The entire day I had no idea where anyone else was. I could only see specks in the distance and only Quang following at a good distance behind me. The whole confusion left me in a disoriented mental state.

The miles flew by and lunch was at mile 35. Now, Malta has the distinction of having the highest density of mosquitos according to some Guinness Book of World Records thing. I couldn't find it by searching online, but I believe it. Malta itself isn't the worst, but the roads coming in are. It's situated between a nature preserve on one side, a man-made lake from a dam, and flooded farm fields; a perfect breeding ground. Pulling into lunch I was immediately swarmed. I made myself a quick PB&J and headed back on the road. Oh, I also died in the process; Quang killed me which explains why he was following me all day. Whatever, to not stop at lunch to refuel and rest a bit because of a silly game is dumb.

The next 35 miles. I eyed a vending machine passing through Saco and took a quick break to drink a cold Coke. The beginning of random cravings for the rest of the day. Though I will say, I did make a good advertisement: Straddling my bike next to the vending machine, sun beating down, beads of sweat on the can, the slight head tilt to drink. The last half of the day, again, I didn't run across anyone and was by myself. The "myself" part didn't bother me at all, I lose myself just looking at the terrain, it's just I didn't know where the heck anyone else was.

2 miles out of Malta, flat tire. Of course, this makes 2 days and 2 flat tires. The mail drop tomorrow with new tires needs to get here, I just need to make it 67 miles tomorrow with no flat. Sharon passes by 5 minutes later but her pump doesn't work so she moves on. I call the van to see where Joy is, but she just left lunch 35 miles back. Surely some other rider would come by before the van made it. Nope. I waited 45 minutes on the side of the road until Joy arrived and used the floor pumps we have. I called a friend to pass the time, but I could've walked my bike and made it before the pump arrived. Even better, there was a DQ about a mile up.

We stayed at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Malta. They left us use their religious education building. It was creepy. I remember odd yellow brick and small rooms. The creepiest part was writing in the bathroom like "God wants you to flush the toilet" written on the toilet tank lid.

There's an Alberston's in town and I walked over and fulfilled more random cravings: blueberries, salt and vinegar chips, and blueberry yogurt, essential (orange) vitaminwater. All very weird and I think partly to fill the frustrated and tired mood I was in. The flat 2 miles out really did a number on me. Ditto the disorientation of not knowing where anyone else was. Thinking back, I'm pretty sure I was a little dehydrated, the entire day I couldn't seem to keep my throat moist. I drank the 2L of my camelbak and nearly 30 oz of water during the ride.

It was also laundry day so we went to the laundromat and did our thing. Nothing to note, but it was hot inside, so I waited outside chatting on the phone. Though, while we were waiting for the washers to finish, we took a trip to the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum. We arrived 7 minutes after closing, but Sue opened the doors and let us in free of charge. It's a small museum but it serves as a base for field digs and they have Leonardo, their prized fossil. He's a mummified dinosaur with 90% of his skin tissue preserved. Something like that. The museum just opened in June and Leonardo is being prepped for his debut in Houston and a Discovery Channel Special that will be airing in August.

Dinner crew made quesdillas. Still, a bunch of us headed over to DQ to get various ice and cream goods. What did I get? A turkey club. For some reason I was just craving it.

In the evening, we had our weekly affordable housing meeting and a preliminary discussion about our competitive grant process. I was having none of it. I was tired, ornery and ready for bed. Before that though, I needed to deal with my flat rear tire. I decided the best move would be to get a new tube and use a stock tire for the day. All I need to do is make it the 67 miles tomorrow.

So, this was a down day for me. This seems to me to be a particularly tough stretch, since there's not much to look forward to. We're well beyond the half-way point but not close enough to be in the home stretch. We're just grinding through it. You tend to waiver back and forth between wanting the trip to be over and wanting to keep going. Glacier should help though. We've talked to a few people about it and heard nothing but raves.